ASR MEMBERS: What System Would YOU Choose To Blow Away Non-Audiophiles?

[computer-audiophile]

I wouldn't disagree. But what is much more valuable with music is consistency and accessibility.

Yes, that's how I see it too. I wouldn't normally want to have a multi-channel system at home either.

However, I have to say that we once organised an immersive house concert in our previous flat, where a group of 4 pairs of loudspeakers and amplifiers of my own design were set up in several rooms. A good friend of mine, the French composer and mathematician René Bastian, had composed a work for this. René Bastian is one of the pioneers of electronic music and musique concrete.

It was called 'Musique domestique pour quatre groupes des haut-parleurs.'
We made a book out of the score with a printout of the computer code behind it.

 

[Curvature]

Yes, that's how I see it too. I wouldn't normally want to have a multi-channel system at home either.

However, I have to say that we once organised an immersive house concert in our previous flat, where a group of 4 pairs of loudspeakers of my own design were set up in several rooms. A good friend of mine, the French composer and mathematician René Bastian, had composed a work for this. René Bastian is one of the pioneers of electronic music and musique concrete.

It was called 'Musique domestique pour quatre groupes des haut-parleurs.'
We made a book out of the score with a printout of the computer code behind it.

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I have not heard of your friend but I adore the work done by INA/GRM, especially Bernard Parmegiani.

 

[computer-audiophile]

I have not heard of your friend but I adore the work done by INA/GRM, especially Bernard Parmegiani.

Thank you, very interesting. I'll do some research. I don't know if I know him. There are so many and my memory is no longer the best. One composer who comes from the IRCAM corner and who also used amplifiers and loudspeakers that I designed for intimate public performances of musique concrete is Michel Chion. Maybe you know him?

I myself am a member of a composer, sound researcher and sound artist group CARMEN, which is based in Wissembourg, where our sound barn for concerts is also located. But there's not much going on, the members are all very old or some have already died.

 

[Vacceo]

It´s quite an easy thing. Bass is what makes a more physical difference in a good system so if the point is wow instead of accurate, get a couple JL Gothams and have fun.

 

[SIY]

Multichannel for sure.

TBH, the strongest reaction I've ever had from a non-audiophile was my girlfriend the first time she heard the Quad 988s set up in my listening room driven by my "oh, it's so cute!" NAD M10. Something about those panels and string instruments/vocals...

 

[Talisman]

I think anything that would make that 'High End Audio' experience more accessible to the general masses would be my approach, and I'd happily use my JBL708Ps, each sitting on top of an old round long throw10" HSU Research subwoofer to show what is within reach for most.

Keeping with the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) principle, no reason to go further than the Denon 3700 as the front end, dial in the room with Audyssey and you're good to go. Plug in a Chromecast Audio Puck and I've got a relatively cheap, stealthy little setup that I believe would surprise many.

I would happily compare that system with pretty much anything out there, and don't feel it would be embarrassed.

Gotta break the perception that only high price can give exceptional sound.

I completely agree. From 0 to 100 where zero is the clock radio and 100 is the best possible utopian system, getting to 80/85 is incredibly cheap, and I mean everything under 1000 euros, and this is what can strike and impress most of all, because a 200,000 euro system can only disappoint compared to the very high expectations set by the price. A little anecdote, I had an old energy subwoofer bought for 50 euros and a recent but very modest elac 10.2 sub for 200. When I started switching to 2.1 by inserting criteria such as response measurement and frequency cut I decided to use these two subs as drivers of the right system to get the hang of (kef R3 og main speakers) knowing that in the future I would purchase good quality svs subs. The truth is that once I calibrated the system, adjusted the bass and smoothed out the peaks, the result was so impressive and satisfying that I decided I didn't need such an expensive upgrade at the moment. A pair of Polk E20s a thomann t.racks 4x4 to manage the bass and cut frequencies A fosi v3 Two sub elac 10.2 A umik 1 Approximately 1000 euros of expense, a yield that would not be out of place compared to MUCH more expensive systems.

 

[RosalieTheDog]

You don't need much to 'blow away' non-audiophiles. Putting some room between decent bookshelves, and many people hear stereo for the first time ...

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Really? Every casual music listener, or “non-audiophile” who has listened to my systems over the years has been blown away. Even the typical “oh I don t know anything about this stuff and probably won’t be able to hear a difference” types. I know I’m far from alone.

Yeah, and I'm sure they are also "blown away" by any of the more expensive systems on display at the local Best Buy. It's not that they won't be blown away by a great audiophile system...it's that they'll also be blown away by pretty much any half-way decent system. And frankly, that's as it should be because many of us would also be the same if we're being honest (or we can't see the system we're listening to.) The audiophile magic we're all chasing is to some degree an illusion - it's way more subtle than a fairly brief casual listening session is going to reveal. Attempting to blow non-audiophiles away with our gear is pretty much a fools errand. Depending on how "boutique" the rig is, they are more likely to be blown away by the visual aspects of our systems than the sonic aspects...

And yet even so I'm entertaining the thought of attempting it once again, lol. I have a good friend who is a long time music lover. In fact, he's the guy who pretty much stoked my own love of music more than 4 decades ago. He also does appreciate a nice sound system. But,, he's not an audiophile. He doesn't obsess over sound. He doesn't frequent forums like this one or any other audiophile forums. If he wants a new piece of gear, he'll go to Best Buy and get something that seems decent. He's been at my place and heard my system and he's impressed, but I don't think he really notes anything particularly mind-blowing about it. I know my setup sounds significantly better than what he's got going on...even just on the basis of speaker positioning and room arrangement...but it doesn't really register with him. Not in a brief listening audition anyway. But, I'm thinking about having him come by sometime for a serious session with my headphone rig that would include a carefully curated list of tracks that I think he might be more impressed by - stuff that both shows off my system and also that he happens to be very familiar with including some of his faves.

 

[Open Mind Audio]

I'd go in three steps.

1. Start with something that has a general form factor similar (in size) to much less expensive systems, to drive home the point that well-made equipment can look somewhat familiar but then blow you away. Something like the Dutch & Dutch to showcase actives, or going with separates, Magicos + a Benchmark DAC and Benchmark Amp, perhaps with 1-2 subs or maybe not.
2. Then go to a multichannel setup using the same mains (if passives) and an Okto 8 DAC or the new Marantz AV 10. Again, nothing exotic, just ass-kicking equipment.
3. Then finally, we'd walk over to the adjoining huge room where there are 2 KEF Blades + matching KEF Reference surrounds, Benchmark mono amps, huge ass subs (SVS quality of higher, not too particular, sorry), and I would polish off the dear listener with surround versions of Beethoven, Wagner, Pink Floyd ...

If they are not won over after all that, I'd give them a Bose Acoustimass system and tell them to ... go their merry way.

 

[Vacceo]

Multichannel for sure.

TBH, the strongest reaction I've ever had from a non-audiophile was my girlfriend the first time she heard the Quad 988s set up in my listening room driven by my "oh, it's so cute!" NAD M10. Something about those panels and string instruments/vocals...

Atmos in a living room is quite an experience for someone who has never experienced that except in theatres. Edge of Tomorrow is always a banger for that; those infrasonics at the start of the film...

 

[Keith_W]

Try this: get a non-audiophile friend to sit in the sweet spot. Observe the difference between their behaviour and your audiophile friends. Audiophile friends will sit perfectly still, keep quiet, close their eyes, and focus. Non-audiophiles will move away, talk, and do anything but pay attention to the music.

They don't care too much, and neither should we care about impressing them. They come over for something else - conversation, food, fun, friendship, drinking my collection of wines, admiring the tomatoes in my backyard, etc. Focus on that instead.

 

[Sal1950]

I would not, as many find it for music very artificial sounding. People are not used to that kind of sound for music. And second, the atmos music libary is very limited in titles, lacking a lot of music i and my friends would like...

For HT, Atmos is great, but not for music. At least not in my and many opinions...

Wrong
Sadly the same attitude we heard from the "mono forever" crew.
The library of Quad, 5.1, and Atmos/Immersive releases grows bigger every day at an exponential rate.
Way past time to open your ears and mind to the new future.

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

They don't care too much, and neither should we care about impressing them. They come over for something else - conversation, food, fun, friendship, drinking my collection of wines, admiring the tomatoes in my backyard, etc. Focus on that instead.

I 100% agree, for the majority of people the majority of time.

But once in a while people express interest or curiosity. When they do...

 

[Snarfie]

Try this: get a non-audiophile friend to sit in the sweet spot. Observe the difference between their behaviour and your audiophile friends. Audiophile friends will sit perfectly still, keep quiet, close their eyes, and focus. Non-audiophiles will move away, talk, and do anything but pay attention to the music.

They don't care too much, and neither should we care about impressing them. They come over for something else - conversation, food, fun, friendship, drinking my collection of wines, admiring the tomatoes in my backyard, etc. Focus on that instead.

Got some friends who are musicians if they listen they move their feet. My audiophile friend (yes i have 1 ) he sits still an is quite Not moving his feet what does that mean

 

[AdamG]

I would demo my Subwoofers with a few key Movie Scenes. My Subs will shake the room and pressurize your body and head. Everybody understands Bass and I can recreate the deep bass of a high end dance club venue. Funny that they don’t notice the music as much as the Bass. It’s hard to get non audio types interested in the gear we have. I think they see it as an eye sore and overkill.

 

[computer-audiophile]

I would demo my Subwoofers with a few key Movie Scenes. My Subs will shake the room and pressurize your body and head.

Different taste (no problem!)

This love for massive bass seems to be very popular with ASR (or in the US?)
I prefer to listen to other kinds of E-Musik* and this is what also my friends typically do. Perhaps later I will give you an example of a visitor we had these days.

*just a quick intro to the term 'E-Musik' or 'serious music' commonly used in Germany. It refers to classical and contemporary art music, setting itself apart from popular music by its intricate structures and complexity in harmony. Think Beethoven, Mozart, and even modern composers pushing the boundaries. In Germany, 'E-Musik' is a nod to this high-cultural musical tradition.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I would demo my Subwoofers with a few key Movie Scenes. My Subs will shake the room and pressurize your body and head. Everybody understands Bass and I can recreate the deep bass of a high end dance club venue. Funny that they don’t notice the music as much as the Bass. It’s hard to get non audio types interested in the gear we have. I think they see it as an eye sore and overkill.

yeah subs are something that would actually be noted by a casual audio guy. Most systems don't get low like that with authority. At high SPLs it has an actual, physical impact that is hard to miss. Sadly, I'm in an apartment and a sub is out of the question. i'm not even comfortable turning the volume up on my rig without a sub beyond about 75dbs. And that sort of SPL isn't really going to blow anyone away lol...

 

[Vacceo]

Wrong
Sadly the same attitude we heard from the "mono forever" crew.
The library of Quad, 5.1, and Atmos/Immersive releases grows bigger every day at an exponential rate.
Way past time to open your ears and mind to the new future.

A good multichannel system always starts with a good stereo. In the end, you´re not choosing.

 

[Frank Dernie]

Most people who like listening to music are impressed by my system but none would be prepared to live with speakers big enough to get the bass they hear and want, particularly when the position of the speaker in the room make so much difference.
Most even think my, tiny to me, Devialet Phantoms are too big.
I know plenty of people into non classical music for whom good sound is their “special” car system with the bass turned up to max, all of which I’ve heard are dire.

 

[JSmith]

who am i to disagree

I travel the world and the seven seas... everybody's looking for something.


JSmith